An independent firm will be responsible for looking into allegations stemming from the 2006 provincial election.

Mike Quinn, the province's chief electoral officer says there's an allegation that someone may have breached the Political Process Financing Act by making unreported cash payments during the previous campaign.

Quinn made the decision to hand the case over to a third party after meeting with the auditor general.

He says he doesn't want his office to loose focus on delivering a voter-oriented election, and says the investigation should be done by an independent team in a timely manner.